 | |
| Product type | Railway model kits |
|---|---|
| Owner | Hornby (2007–pres.) |
| Introduced | 1959 |
| Previous owners |
|
Rosebud Kitmaster is the brand name of a short-lived but critically acclaimed range of plastic assembly kits, manufactured in the United Kingdom by Rosebud Dolls Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire. Introduced from May 1959, the range rapidly expanded to include 34 models of railway locomotives and coaches in OO, HO and TT scales, and eventually, one motorcycle in 1:16 scale.
The assets of Rosebud Kitmaster were sold to Airfix Products Ltd in late 1962.[1] Nine locomotives and the motorcycle were later re-issued under the Airfix brand. Airfix Products Ltd collapsed in 1982. The Rosebud Kitmaster and Airfix railway & Trackside ranges were sold to David Boyle of Dapol Model Railways and the tools were transferred to their premises in Winsford, Cheshire (later in Llangollen, Clwyd and now Gledridd Industrial Estate in Shropshire. The residual tooling of the Airfix company was taken over by Humbrol in 1986, but the company went down in August 2006.[2] Hornby then acquired the Humbrol and Airfix brand names. Dapol Model Railways have subsequently re-introduced the Kitmaster name for their range of plastic construction kits and their "completely knocked down" range of coaches derived from Airfix and Mainline Railways tooling.
- ^ Knight 1999, p. 7.
- ^ Humbrol development complete eight years after factory closed on the BBC, Published 30 August 2014]